Often times, we hear about the harrowing experi ences faced by domestic violence survivors. However, Alia Hassan, a survivor of domestic violence who experienced intense abuse at the hands of her husband, recently met with South Asian Network Executive Director, Hamid Khan and domestic violence program staff members to help enhance the services provided by the organization to South Asian women who are currently experiencing domestic violence.

She is keen on raising funds to support the immediate needs of survivors of domestic violence and their children such as bus tokens or passes, grocery, 2-3 days of hotel stay, phone cards to call family and friends as well as other much needed resources. In addition, often financial resources are required when a survivor wants to pursue education or even learn how to drive. Ms. Hassan would like to ensure that these unmet needs in the community are addressed by grassroots fundraising that she wants to do on behalf of the organization.

Alia would also like to connect survivors of domestic violence with each other so that they can support each other in their path to safety. She finds that often they can share resources and even housing once they have completed their stay at the shelter or if they chose not to stay at a shelter. Based on her experience, she also suggested that survivors ought to create social support networks through SAN so that they can share babysitting responsibilities with other survivors who want to pursue education, find employment or attend a social event with friends.

Often times, such networks are lacking for immigrant women whose family and friends are primarily in their country of origin. With the support of SAN staff, Saima Husain, Riffat Rahman and Rubaiyat Karim, Hassan has begun a dialogue with other survivors of domestic violence at South Asian Network so as to enhance the services provided by case managers at SAN as well as facilitate the leadership of women who are positioned to create a client centered program for survivors of domestic violence in the South Asian community.